Glory

This is a very skillfully made and incisive movie. Part parable, part satire, it follows the struggles of a very poor man who tries to do the right thing and then gets coldly manipulated and abused by multiple levels of a corrupt system as a "reward" for his honesty.

The story is both painful and quite funny to watch as railroad lineman Tzanko has his life upended by the machinations of a rapaciously ambitious PR demon named Julia and her squad of incompetent flunkies. The two main actors are superb in their starkly different, yet completely interdependent, roles, and the supporting cast members do a fine job portraying a motley crew of hoodlums, cowards, bureaucrats and other assorted scum.

The camera-work is very good -- it's mostly hand-held and the carefully modulated restlessness perfectly complements the edgy narrative. The editing is brilliant... somehow it lends an understated note to a story that, less deftly handled, would be too obvious, too blunt.

I almost didn't get to see this movie and feel very happy I did. It reminds me another excellent recent release, "Toni Erdmann," except that the behavior on display here is even worse and the stakes are much higher. Do yourself a favor and see "Glory."